Battery mechanism for automatic filling-replenishing looms.



. A. E. RHOADES.

BATTERY MECHANISM ron AUTOMATIC mums REPLENISHING LOOMS.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJ. i917.

1,272,716. Patented July 16; 1918'.

, Inventor. Abngo ERhoudes MMQW AIIyS.

ALONZO E. BHOADES, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO DRAPEB- CORPO- BATION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAIN'E.

BATTERY MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC FILLING-REPLENISHING LOOMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August a, 1917. Serial No. 184,988.

following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in hopper or battery mechanisms for automatic filling replenishing looms and the obj ect thereof is to provide an improved mechanism for supporting and guiding the filling carrier about to be transferred to the running shuttle.

The usual hopper mechanism of automatic filling replenishing looms of the Northrop type comprises a disk having recesses at its periphery to receive the bases of a series of filling carriers, said filling carriers being successively advanced to transferring position from which they are thrust into the running shuttle by a pivoted transfer arm which forms part of a transferring mechanism the action of which is controlled by a feeler or weft fork. The rotatable disk is mounted uponv a stand having a circular flange which embraces and retains the filling carriers in their positions in the peripheral recesses or sockets throughout the greater portion of the periphery of said disk. The flange, however, is cut away at the transferring position to permit the fill ing carrier to be thrust from the hopper into the shuttle.

When the filling carrier reaches transferring position it engages an abutment located upon the hopper stand in alinement with the position of the shuttle at the time the transferring action takes place. In h0ppers of the usual type a spring actuated. bobbin supporting finger pivotally mounted beneath the rotatable hopper underlies the base of the filling carrier about to be transferred to prevent it from dropping from the hopper, the end of this finger also engaging the base of the filling carrier as it is being transferred and serving to press it against the abutment and thereby to aid in directing the filling carrier into the shuttle.

Patented July as, was.

Under certain circumstances this finger interferes with the proper transfer of thefilling carrler from the hopper to the shuttle and it sometimes happens that the rebound of the hopper in its advancement step by step so positions the filling carrier over the supporting and guiding instrumentality or finger that the transfer arm will-thrust the filling carrier against said supporting finger in such a manner as to break the finger.

The present invention contemplates the provision-of means for so mounting the supporting instrumentality for the filling carrier about to be transferred that it will be removed from the path of the filling carrier as the latter is thrust from the hopper into the shuttle, the means for removing said instrumentality from the path of the filling carrier preferably being operated by the movement of the transferring mechanism.

In order to prevent breakage of said instrumentality means are also provided for permitting a limited independent movement between it and the means through which it is actuated from the transferring mechanism.

, other objects and features of the invenloom.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an end view of a portion of the hopper stand of a filling replenishing loom showing the transfer arm in dotted lines and illustrating a preferred embodiment of my invention, and, a

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of a-portionof the same.

Inasmuch as the present invention relates only to the hopper mechanism of the usual type of automatic filling replenishing loom a sufficient amount of the transferring mechanism is illustrated in the accompanying drawings to enable an understanding of my improvement, it being understood that as illustrated the invention is associated with the usual type of mechanism of the well w the filling carriers 6.

1 passage of the known Northrop loom in which the transferring mechanism is automatically operated upon detection by a feele'r or Weft of failure or substantial exhaustion of filllng and in which the transferring mechanism includes apivotally mounted transfer armhaving a head which strikes against the base of the filling carrier in the hopper and forces the same from the hopper into the running shuttle. v

As'illustrated herein the hopper is'of the usual type comprising a stand having a base 1 supporting the usual flanged end plate 2 in which a rotary hopper 3 is mounted upon a shaft 4 projecting from the central portion of the end plate 2. The hopper is rotated intermittently in the usual manner bya reciprocating pawl, (not shown) which engages a ratchet 5 upon said rotaryhopper. The rotary hopper i provided with the usual series of peripheral recesses for supporting The filling carriers 6 are brought successively into transferring position by the step by step rotation of the hopper and When a filling carrier is in transferring position it engages an abutment 7 which conveniently is in the form of an L-shaped plateforming a part of or secured to the hopper stand 1 and projecting in the path of the filling carrier. In the usual construction the circular flange 8 'upon the end plate 2 prevents the filling carriers from being displaced from the rotary hopper during its rotation but this flangeis necessarily interrupted or cut away above transferring position to permit the filling carrier to pass from the hopper into the'shuttle. In usual constructions the filling carrier is prevented from falling out of the hopper by a yieldable finger pivotally mounted upon the hopper stand beneath the cut-away portion of the flange 8, said finger extending into the path of the filling carrier and serving to retain thesame against the abutment as it passes from the hopper to the shuttle.

This finger sometimes interferes withthe filling carrier. Furthermore, if the filling carrier becomes displaced, as for example by the rebound ofthe .rotary hopper as a filling carrier is brought to transferring position, the action of the transferrer upon the filling carrier sometimes causes a breakage of the fingen The present invention is designed to overcome these defects by providing means for positively removing the supporting and guiding means for the filling carrier from the path of the filling carrier as the transfer arm descends to thrust said filling-carrier into the shuttle. To this end means are provided which are actuatedby the transferring mechanism to move the filling carrier supfork - to out as it approaches transferring position,

' end to a nut :In the preferred embodiment of the inven-;'

tion illustrated herein the filling carrier supporting instrumentality is in the form of an L-shaped arm 10 having a finger 11 the end of which extends beneath the cut-away portion of the flange 8 of the hopper and Serves prevent the filling carrier from dropping the end of said finger projecting beneath the portion of the filling carrier which rests against the abutment he arm 10 is pivotally mounted upon a stud 1 2 projecting from the plate 2 of the hopper stand and preferably located within the central portion of .said plate. The arm 10 and the finger 11 are normally forced toward the abutment 7 by a helical spring 13 coiled about the stud l2 and secured at one end of said extension 15 stud 16 upon movement of the finger l1 spring being provided with an which engages the arm 10. A the plate 2 serves to limit the is normally retained in proper relation to the abutment 7.

per into the shuttle. -A

nism which is illustrated herein comprises a link 17 which is connected t one end to a stud 18 projecting from a bracket 19 which is secured to an arm 20 on the shaft 21 which carries the usual transferring arm 22, the

opposite end of the link 17 to the arm 10 of the filling ing and guiding member.

It will be obvious actuation of the transferring mechanism will cause the descent of the transferrer and that as the transferrerdescends the link 17 Will be forced longitudinally (to the left as illustrated in Fig. 1) thereby thrusting the arm 10 With its supporting and guiding finger 11 out of the path of the filling carrier sufficiently to insure freedom of passage from the filling carrier to the shuttle. The length of the link 17 is such however, as to permit the end of the finger 11 to guide the base of the filling carrier against the abutment 7 during the transferring operation. Y

In order to permit a greater movement of being connected carrier support- 14 upon said shaft, the opposite V the arm 10 so'that the end of be'utilized for movpivot and thereby removing the finger 11 from the path of the filling carrier as it is thrust from the hop preferred mechathat, in operation, the

the guiding and supporting instrumentality in case the filling carrier about to be transferred is improperly positioned means are provided for permitting a limited movement between the link 17 and the arm 10 .of the supporting and guiding member. The preferredmeans illustrated herein comprises a pin and slot connection, a pin or stud 23 projecting from the arm 10 entering a slot 24 in the end portion of. the link 17, the link being held upon said pin by a Washer 25 and cotter pin 26. v

If in the operation of the device the hopper'rebounds after bringing a filling carrier to transferring position and thus positions the filling carrier over the finger 11 the pin and slotconnection permits the guiding and supporting means to move laterally under the force of the blow which is imparted to the filling carrier by the transferrer so that the filling carrier will be knocked out of the loom without causing a smash and without breaking the guiding and supporting finger.

\ modifications may be made within the mean- This feature of the invention is very 1mportant since it saves a considerable amount of breakage in looms and the attendant expense in repair and waste/of time caused by the enforced idleness of the loom during the time required for replacement of parts.

Furthermore by thus providing means for positively withdrawing the guiding and supporting instrumentality as the filling carrier is thrust from the hopper into the shuttle the hammering of the guiding and supporting means which tends to crystallize the material and render it fragile is eliminated so that there is less likelihood of breakage than in the usual constructionin which the guiding and supporting finger receives a severe blow upon each transfer.

It will be understood that the particular embodiment of the invention disclosed herein 'is illustrative merely and that various ing and scope of the following claims,

Having thus described my invention what loom comprising a hopper and transferring mechanism, a. supporting and guiding instrumentality for the filling carrier to be transferred and means connecting the supporting and guiding instrumentality to the transferring mechanism and operable by the latter to move said supporting and guiding instrumentality out of the path of the filling carrier as the latter is thrust from the hop per into the shuttle.

2. In an automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper and transferring mechanism a spring actuated supporting and guiding instrumentality for the filling carried to be transferred, a link connecting said transferring mechanism to said supporting and guiding instrumentality and operable by the movement of said transferring mechanism to move said supporting and guiding instrumentality out of the path of the filling carrier as the latter is thrust from the hopper into the shuttle.

3. In an automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper and transferring mechanism, a spring actuated supporting and guiding instrumentality for the filling carrier to be transferred, a link-connecting said transferring mechanism to said supporting and guiding instrumentality and operable by'the movement of said transferring mechanism to move said supporting and guiding instrumentality out of the path of the filling carrier as the latter is thrust from I ed upon said hopper stand above the supporting portion of said instrumentality, yieldable means for normally forcing said instrumentality toward said abutment, a link connecting said instrumentality to said transferring means and operable by the movement of said transferring means to remove said supporting and guiding instrumentality from the path of the filling carrier as the latter is thrust from the hopper into the shuttle and means for permitting relative movement between said link and said guiding and supporting instrumentality whereby interference with the passage of the filling carrier to the shuttle will be avoided and breakage of said instrumentality prevented.

5. In an automatic filling replenishing loom comprising a hopper stand, a rotatable hopper carried thereby having a series of peripheral seats for filling carriers and an abutment upon said hopper stand adapted to engage the filling carrier about to be transferred; transferring means including a movable transfer arm, an L-shaped supporting and guiding finger for the filling carrier to be transferred, pivotally mounted upon said hopper stand, means for yieldably forcing said finger toward said abutment, a link pivotally connected at one end to said transfer arm and at the opposite end connected to said finger by a pin and slot connection whereby the movement of said transfer arm in thrusting a filling carrier from the hopper into the shuttle will force said 5 finger out of the path of the filling carrier and the pin andslot connection will permit further movement of the filling carrier to avoid interference of the finger with the passage of the filling carrier or breakage of said finger. 10

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ALONZO E. RHOADES. 

